Lavatory and disinfection control



Filed Aug. 16. 1943 V /7A4 U m w i U J i a WW O Fatented Oct. 15 1 946 LAVATORY AND DISINFECTION CONTROL.

Robert F. Bracke, Arlington Heights, 111., assignor to R. F. Bracke & Company, Chicago, 111., a partnership composed of Robert F. Bracke and Robert Anderson 1 Application August 16, 1943, Serial No. 498,810 5 Claims. mi. @222) My'invention relates to lavatories, and is more particularly adapted for, but not limited to, lavatories of industrial establishments employing people who handle foodstuffs, surgical dressings, or other articles which areto be protected against contamination.

.In my issued Patent No. 2,319,034, dated May 11, 1943, I have disclosed sanitary apparatus of a: kind adapted to be installed in the individual toilet stalls of a lavatory so that it is necessary for a person to disinfect her hands before leaving the stall. Such sanitary apparatus is expensive to install in a large lavatory having many individual toilet stalls, and furthermore, is not adapted to meet the needs of mens lavatories. An object of my invention is to provide a new and improved lavatory which can be designed for use by either men or women and which will afford the desired sanitary protectionat minimum expense.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved lavatory which may be easily created by converting an existing lavatory at minimum expense.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a conventional lavatory which has been modified to embody my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a planview of a specially constructed lavatory embodying my invention.

In Fig. l I have illustrated a conventional mens lavatory which has been modified to embody my invention. This lavatory is in the form of a single room I 0 having a combined entrance and exit I2. A series of wash basins M are arranged along one wall of the room ill, whereas the opposite wall of this room is provided with a plurality of individual toilet stalls l6 and urinals l8. A rail 20 is provided to divide the single room l0 into two compartments, one of which contains only the wash basins l4 and the other of which contains the toilet facilities. That compartment containing the wash basins M is immediately adjacent the opening I2 through which the users of the lavatory enter and leave.

A conventional turnstile 22 is located between one end of the rail 29 and the adjacent wall of the room It, and this turnstile is so arranged that it forms an entrance into the toilet compartment. This turnstile is provided with the usual ratchet mechanism to prevent rotation of the movable arms in the opposite direction and thereby to prevent people from leaving the toilet compartment through the entrance 24 controlled by this turnstile. A second turnstile 26 is located at the opposite end of the rail 26 and adjacent a sanitary basin 28 or other suitable means for disinfecting the hands of the person leaving the toilet compartment. This turnstile 26 controls the toilet compartment exit 30 and is provided with suitable ratchet mechanism to prevent people from entering the toilet compartment by way of this exit. The turnstile 26 is further provided with a latch mechanism for preventing a person from leaving the toilet compartment by way of this exit until this latch is released by operation of the disinfecting basin 23.

This disinfectingbasin may be of the kind shown in my said Patent No. 2,319,034, or of any other suitable kind, but is preferably of the type disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 498,809, filed August 16, 1943, now Patent No. 2,358,139, granted September 12, 1944. In general, such a basin comprises a divided compartment into which a person must insert both hand to operate rods for closing the two switches 32 arranged in series in a circuit connecting a battery 34 or other suitable source of current with the latch releasing mechanism of the turnstile 26., The lower ends of the switch-operating rods are either immersed in disinfecting liquid or are located beneath nozzles which discharge disinfecting liquid upon the hands of the user when he moves these rods to switch closing position. It is therefore necessary for a person seeking to leave the toilet compartment to disinfect his hands before the turnstile 26 will permit him to leave this section of the toilet room. The wires which connect the switches 32 with the latch mechanism of the turnstile 26 preferably extend under the floor or are attached to the ceiling, so that they do not impede the exit 30.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a lavatory specially designed to embody my invention. This lavatory has two rooms, indicated generally by reference numerals 50 and 52. The room 50 contains only wash basins 54 and communicates directly with the common entrance and exit 56 communicating with a hall or room of the factory or building in which the lavatory is located. The second room 52 contains the toilet stalls 58 and urinals 60 and 62.

Entrance to the second room is eifected by passing through the first room and through an opening. connecting the two rooms and forming a combined entrance and exit for the toilet room. A one-way turnstile 66 controls an entrance way limited to the two compartments shown herein, 1

but may assume numerous other forms. Furthermore, my invention is not limited to the utilization of a sanitary basin to control the latch mechanism of the exit turnstile, as any other suitable disinfecting mechanism may be utilized in lieu of this sanitary basin. For example, this latch mechanism might be controlled by a series of connected light switches of a cabinet for exposing the hands to ultra violet light or other germ-killing rays, or by the manual controls of equipment for exposing the hands to germ-killing gases or other germ-killing media,

While it is advantageous to release the latch of the exit turnstile by a solenoid or other electrically controlled apparatus, this latch or other equivalent control mechanism could be operated through mechanical linkage connecting the latch with the operating rods of the sanitary basin or other disinfecting apparatus located at the disinfecting station adjacent the latch controlled exit turnstile. A gate, dOOr or other movable partition may be substituted for any or all of the turnstiles shown. While both lavatories shown are designed for use by men, my invention is equally adapted to lavatories for Women,

My invention may assume numerous forms and is not to be construed'to be limited to the particular embodiments shown and described in detail herein, but includes all modifications, variations and equivalents coming within the following claims.

I claim:

1. A- lavatory comprising toilet facilities and wash basins, means'separating thatportion of the lavatory containing the toilet facilities from that portion of the lavatory containing the wash basins, said means requiring a person leaving the toilet compartment to pass a disinfecting station located at the exit from this compartment, hand disinfecting means located at this station; a movable member normally preventing a person from leaving the toilet compartment, and means including hand controlled means requiring use of said disinfecting means for releasing said member.

2. A lavatory of the class described comprising a plurality of toilet facilities, a single exit from said facilities, a turnstile controlling said exit and normally preventing a person from leaving by such exit, hand disinfecting means, and means including hand controlled means controlling said turnstile and requiring use of said disinfecting means for releasing said turnstile.

3. A lavatory of the class described having a plurality of toilet facilities, means providing an entrance to said facilities and an exit from said facilities, a first turnstile controlling said entrance and preventing exit therethrough, a second turnstile normally closing said exit, a latch for releasing said second turnstile to permit a person to pass outwardly through said exit, hand disinfecting apparatus adjacent said last named turnstile, and means requiring use of said disinfecting apparatus and including hand controlled means for releasing said latch.

4. A lavatory of the class described comprising a single room containing wash basins and toilet facilities, a railing dividing said room into a toilet compartment and a Wash basin compartment, said railing providing a single exit from said toilet compartment, a movable member normally closing said exit, hand disinfecting mechanism adjacent said exit, and means requiring use of said disinfecting mechanism and including hand controlled means controlling said movable member for releasing said movable member.

5. A lavatory of the class described comprising a first room containing wash basin and a second room containing toilet facilities, outside entrance and exit means for said first room, entrance and exit means connecting said rooms, a first turnstile controlling passage from said first room into said second room, a second turnstile controlling passage from said second room into said first room, hand disinfecting apparatus adjacent said second turnstile, latch means for said second turnstile, and means including hand controlled means controlling said latch means and requiring use of said disinfecting apparatus to effect release of said second turnstile.

ROBERT F. BRACKE. 

